Does the angles of incidence affect speed in glass

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the effect of the angle of incidence on the speed of light as it enters glass from air, particularly focusing on whether this angle influences the speed and the resulting lateral displacement of light. The scope includes conceptual understanding and application of Snell's law in optics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether the speed of light in glass changes with different angles of incidence, suggesting it does not, as the speed is determined by the refractive index.
  • Others argue that while the speed remains constant, the lateral displacement of light does vary with the angle of incidence, leading to different emergent paths.
  • One participant mentions that a greater angle of incidence results in a larger lateral displacement compared to a smaller angle.
  • There are inquiries about the geometric relationships involved, particularly how to express the distance of lateral displacement in terms of the angle of incidence and other parameters.
  • Some participants refer to Snell's law and the geometric derivation of relationships between angles and distances in the context of refraction.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the speed of light in glass is independent of the angle of incidence. However, there is disagreement regarding the implications of this independence on lateral displacement, with multiple views on how these concepts interrelate remaining unresolved.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the need for clarity on geometric relationships and assumptions regarding the behavior of light at interfaces, as well as the dependence on definitions of terms like lateral displacement.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students and enthusiasts of optics, particularly those interested in the principles of refraction and the application of Snell's law in practical scenarios.

bmcd
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I understand that the refractive index of different materials affects the speed of light but does light change speed in glass when entering from air at different angles of incidence?? if not what causes the variation in lateral displacement?
 
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bmcd said:
does light change speed in glass when entering from air at different angles of incidence??
Do you mean, whether the light speed in the glass is dependent on the angle at which it impinges on the glass interface? If yes, it is not. The velocity in a medium other than air is given by ##v=c/n##, no angle dependence.
bmcd said:
if not what causes the variation in lateral displacement?
Which particular arrangement are you talking about?
 
Ok, thanks but why the variation in lateral displacement
 
Can you give a physical example pertaining the lateral displacement you are talking about?
 
light passes into a glass block at 50 degrees will have a larger lateral displacement than light passing through the same glass block at a lesser angle of incidence. Why is this?
 
Are you, for instance, talking about viewing a page of text through a fish tank or a thick pane of glass and noticing that the position of the [image of the] text seems displaced to the right when viewing through a tank slanted away to the right and is displaced to the left when viewing through a tank that is slanted away to the left?

It seems that you are. No, the speed of light in a particular type of glass is what it is, independent of the angle of incidence.

Read up on Snell's law. Do the trigonometry. Draw some lines and see what happens. One intuitive approach is to note that when the light impacts perpendicular to the surface there is no displacement and that when it impacts at any other angle there is. Obviously there will be a smooth curve that describes the offset as a function of refractive index, angle of incidence and block thickness that matches these simple observations. None of this requires a variation in speed of light according to angle of incidence.
 
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Thanks for your help, I'm referring to a simple Ray box and changing the angle of incidence. With a greater AOI the distance between the emergent Ray and the original path of light increases as you increase the AOI.
 
jbriggs444 said:
Are you, for instance, talking about viewing a page of text through a fish tank or a thick pane of glass and noticing that the position of the [image of the] text seems displaced to the right when viewing through a tank slanted away to the right and is displaced to the left when viewing through a tank that is slanted away to the left?

It seems that you are. No, the speed of light in a particular type of glass is what it is, independent of the angle of incidence.

Read up on Snell's law. Do the trigonometry. Draw some lines and see what happens. One intuitive approach is to note that when the light impacts perpendicular to the surface there is no displacement and that when it impacts at any other angle there is. Obviously there will be a smooth curve that describes the offset as a function of refractive index, angle of incidence and block thickness that matches these simple observations. None of this requires a variation in speed of light according to angle of incidence.

What is the science behind the difference in distance between the emergent Ray and the original path of light before refraction at different angles of incidence using a Ray box and a glass block? i.e bigger angle of incidence equals a bigger distance between those two points than a smaller angle of incidence!

Sorry not a physics specialist!
 
Are you familiar with geometry? What do you think when you see this image
example_5.png
?
How will you express ##d## in terms of the other given parameters in that picture?
 
  • #10
blue_leaf77 said:
Are you familiar with geometry? What do you think when you see this image
example_5.png
?
How will you express ##d## in terms of the other given parameters in that picture?

Yes this is what I'm talking about so in layman terms why is d different at different angles of incidence
 
  • #11
bmcd said:
Yes this is what I'm talking about so in layman terms why is d different at different angles of incidence
What is d when the angle of incidence is 90 degrees?
Is d non-zero at other angles of incidence?
Do you expect d to vary continuously with the angle of incidence?
 
  • #12
Yes it is zero perpendicular to the glass block but it changes at different angles below 90. I suppose what I'm asking is there a relationship between the angle of incidence and refraction from air to glass (in basic GCSE) terminology?
 
  • #13
bmcd said:
Yes it is zero perpendicular to the glass block but it changes at different angles below 90. I suppose what I'm asking is there a relationship between the angle of incidence and refraction from air to glass (in basic GCSE) terminology?
Do you know Snell's Law? (The relation between angle of incidence and angle of refraction?)
When the angle of incidence changes, so does the angle of refraction. The length of path inside the gas plate also changes. Why do you think d must be constant? It is an easy geometric derivation to get the distance d in terms of angle of incidence.
 
  • #14
@bmcd , I guess your first keyword for now is the "Snell's law".
 

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